A preliminary list of the obligate subterranean fauna of the British Isles

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Various books and papers published over the past 60 years provide lists of the obligate subterranean fauna (= troglobitic, = stygobitic, = phreatobitic, = interstitial) of the British Isles. No two lists provide the same information and it is not easy to determine which animals are restricted to underground (= hypogean) habitats in these Islands. I have attempted to draw together all of these lists to compile a list of "all" hypogean species. In doing so some species once considered obligate (e.g. some ostracods, a beetle), but which are not, have been eliminated. The following list is the first draft (V1.0) and will be incomplete. Please help to improve this list by sending me relevant information that you have. (see contact details on home page).

Notation: (i) = principally an interstitial animal, ? may not be obligate

Aquatic obligate hypogean species (Stygobites) (35, 14 + 21(i))

Annelida: Oligocheata (3)

Trichodrilus cantabrigiensis (i)
Trichodrilus icenorum (i)
Dorydrilus michaelseni (i)
 

Crustacea: Ostracoda

Cavernocypris subterranea (?)
 

Crustacea: Copepoda (5)

Acanthocyclops sensitivus
Graeteriella unisetigera
Speocyclops demetiensis (?)
Parastenocaris phyllura
Parastenocaris vicesima
 

Crustacea: Syncarida (2)

Antrobathynella stammeri (i)
Bathynella natans (i)
 

Crustacea: Isopoda (1)

Proasellus cavaticus
 

Crustacea: Amphipoda (7)

Crangonyx subterraneus
Niphargus fontanus
Niphargus glenniei
Niphargus aquilex
Niphargus kochianus kochianus (England)
Niphargus kochianus irlandicus (Eire)
Niphargus wexfordensis
 

Arachnida: Acari (16)

Soldanelonyx chappuisi (i)
Soldanelonyx monardi (i)
Parasoldanelonyx parviscutatus (i)
Atractides denticulatus (i)
Atractides latipalpis (i)
Atractides magnirostris (i)
Torrenticola andrei (i)
Torenticola madritensis (i)
Thyasella mandibularis (i)
Wandesia racovitzai (i)
Kongbergia clypaeta (i)
Stygomomonia latipes (i)
Neoacarus hibernicus (i)
Azugofeltria motasi (i)
Vietsaxona lundbladi (i)
Hungarohydracurus subterraneus (i)
 

Terrestrial obligate hypogean species (Troglobites) (12)

Insecta: Collembola (3)

Archaphorura schoetti
Disparrhopalites patrizii
Psedosinella dobati
 

Insecta: Diptera (2)

Speolepta leptogaster
Limosina racovitzai (?)
 

Arachnida: Araneae (1)

Porrhomma rosenhaueri
 

Arachnida: Acari (6)

Eugamasus anglocavernarum
Eugamasus traghardi
Rhagidia logipes
Rhagidia vitzthuni
Troglocheles sp. (?)
Bonzia brownei